By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump’s campaign said on Wednesday it raised over $45.5 million in the third quarter from July to September, nearly 30% higher than it raised in the previous quarter while the former U.S. president faces multiple legal charges.
The acceleration in fundraising could be a sign that Trump’s 2024 campaign coffers are benefiting from his legal problems, which include four indictments.
The Trump campaign’s statement on Wednesday did not provide details of how it arrived at that tally or its break up from where the funds were raised.
The Trump campaign said it had over $37.5 million cash on hand and that about $36 million of it is designated for the primary.
Trump is the frontrunner in the race for the Republican presidential nomination for the November 2024 election.
His closest rival, who trails him by a big margin in opinion polls, is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
The DeSantis campaign on Wednesday reported raising $15 million during the third quarter, although not all of those funds will be available for use during the Republican primary. It was a lower take than the $20 million in the second quarter, a possible sign that donors are souring on DeSantis as he has failed to dent Trump’s commanding lead.
The former president faces four criminal indictments over his attempts to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory, his handling of classified documents after he left the White House, and hush money paid to a [censored] star. Trump has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in all of the cases.
He also faces a January civil damages trial for defaming a writer who accused him of rape, which he denies.
Trump is also accused by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, of inflating the value of his assets to secure better loan and insurance terms. He has said the case is part of a “political witch-hunt.”
Trump’s main fundraising committee raised more than $35 million during the April-June period, nearly twice what the group gathered in the prior three months.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; editing by Grant McCool)
